This invention relates to a computer/user interface for computer hardware resources associated with familiar devices.
The proliferation of the personal computer has made it possible to move many familiar office devices off of the desktop and into the computer system. Fax modems, for example, allow the user to not only to transmit and receive data from bulletin board services and computer networks, but also to send and receive facsimile transmissions, as well as place and accept calls over telephone lines. CD-ROM is not only an inexpensive storage medium for large computer programs or vast amounts of electronic data, but also a medium through which the computer may play music or display pictures or graphics. In addition, other office devices, e.g., AM/FM receivers and television tuners, are available as computer system components.
For experienced computer users, existing computer/user interface packages, such as Microsoft Windows, are more than sufficient to enable the user to manipulate these familiar office devices. The experienced user usually has no trouble selecting an office device for use, invoking the appropriate application to operate the device, and configuring the computer system for proper operation of the application and the device.
Novice users, on the other hand, usually have little, if any, understanding of the computer and are often unable or unwilling to perform the tasks necessary to use these otherwise familiar devices. At best, the novice user is confused when trying to operate office devices through the computer.
Experienced users and novice users alike encounter difficulties when a device is used for conflicting purposes. A fax modem, for example, may be used to initiate and answer voice calls as well as to transmit and receive facsimiles. If the modem receives an incoming call, the user must decipher whether it is a voice or facsimile call and then invoke the appropriate application, all before the caller gets tired of waiting and hangs up. In addition, the user may attempt to place a telephone call while unaware that facsimile data is being received by the modem.